Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,134
Wisps, and I guess the maker part has something to do with Fergus,” I replied, thinking on my feet.
Charlotte shook her head. “His Gaelic never was very good. It’s more like ‘The maker’s bones hold the Will together.’ But… you made it sound like Fergus was alive? If that’s the case, then his bones are inside that realm, and we’re screwed.”
“No, no, he’s not alive!” I pretty much shrieked. “He looks like it, but he’s not. I saw for myself with… um… a lens thing that Nathan had on him.” I’d hesitated in case she started calling me a thief again, but I figured honesty would be the best policy with her. It would be up to her whether she believed me or not, though I’d done all right so far in winning her over.
“So, you think there’s a chance the bones might be here, in the outside world?” Charlotte urged. “This is important, Persie. The bones are holding together the spell that created this interdimensional pocket. If we can’t find them, we can’t do anything.”
I tapped my chin in thought. “He said his body had turned to dust, as all bodies do, but he didn’t mention anything about his body decaying inside the realm.” An idea came to me. “Maybe that’s the price he paid to have the realm built, and to trap the Wisps inside. He had to die so he could be reunited with Lorelei’s soul in their own private heaven.”
Charlotte nodded, a smile turning up the corners of her lips. “What did you just say?”
“Uh… that’s the price he paid? Or do you mean the reunited part?” She seemed to be having a lightbulb moment.
“Yes, that part!” I was still none-the-wiser. “There’s another line here—though it’s pretty smudged—that says, ‘Only when destiny is fulfilled, and what remains is brought together will the Will break.’ I think we’re onto something!” She sounded excited. “The ‘what remains is’ part can also be translated as ‘the remains are.’ As in, the bones. If we want this to stop, we need to try something unorthodox—we’ll need to find Fergus’s bones and take them to this Lorelei woman, or whatever’s left of her. Their bones need to be reunited. If they were in love, they might even be buried close to one another.”
“That’s all he wants, to be with his love again.” I rolled with her idea, glad to have her sharp mind whirring. “If we give him what he wants, then the Will might disperse, and he might let everyone go. It might even close the gateway for good.”
The pixies whizzed around excitedly, and Boudicca gave me a nod of approval. The thought of digging up bones didn’t exactly fill me with joy, but if it brought Genie and Nathan and the others back, then I was more than happy to grab a shovel. The question was, how did we get out of the Institute without being spotted or sounding any alarms?
“Please tell me there’s an escape route that won’t get us caught?” I laid my hopes at Charlotte’s feet.
She grinned. “I’ve been sneaking out of here since I was thirteen. I know back exits and secret passageways that even Victoria doesn’t know about.” Before I could argue, she stepped up to me and wrapped a firm arm around my waist. “Hold tight. This might be bumpy.” Shooting a lasso of Telekinesis up to the rickety walkway overhead, she pulled us out of the sphere’s gloomy depths as I clung for dear life, the pixies close behind.
Landing shakily on solid ground, I had no time to catch my breath as Charlotte sprinted off, out of the new wing. Then and there, I vowed to join Genie on her morning runs if I got her out of this, for the sake of my poor stamina. For now, I forced my legs to race after Charlotte, hoping my lungs didn’t give out before we’d escaped.
I caught up to her in the hallway that led away from the new wing and fell into step at her side, until she came to a halt in front of a seemingly ordinary door. Taking out a set of keys, she turned one in the lock and swung the door wide. A grand study lay beyond, complete with seven white marble dragons identical to the ones in the main assembly hall, only smaller. Elegant golden drapes covered a floor-to-ceiling window, and every available stretch of wall space was filled with packed bookshelves. The tomes looked pricey and